Harry Potter and the Living Stone
by NukeMyWaffle
Summary: Hokkaido Academy for the Mystic Arts is playing host to the Amestris State Military Academy but there's something brewing between Voldemort and a mysterious woman, something concerning the TRUE Philosopher's Stone. Whatever is going on, it can't be good.
1. Something's Afoot

Ah, this is my first crack at a Harry Potter crossover. This is a triple crossover, yes but I worked hard to make it work. There are demons in this story but NO, they're not InuYasha demons.

Anyway, this is for KAZI-KUN, HARPYGIRL91 and the others I know on DeviantArt, YouTube and here, FF.N.

Hope you love it!

* * *

Harry Potter/Sailor Moon

Full Metal Alchemist

**"Harry Potter and the Living Stone"**

**Chapter 1:**

**"Something's Afoot"**

A woman in a long cloak wrapped around her and hood drawn over her head quietly strode up to the wrought iron gates that barred her entrance. A smirk curved the woman's lips as she extended a hand from her cloak and touched the gates. It was the soft red light and accompanying electricity that surged over the enchanted ore and opened the gates, allowing her entrance.

The path leading up to the handsome manor house was emptied and unbarred, allowing her to come straight to the doors where two figures waited for her. One was a curvaceous woman wrapped in a shawl and the other was a wicked looking man with his hands in his jacket vest's pockets. Their presence only made the woman smirk even more.

They would be enough to convince the man she was coming to see. After all, why have the whole set at her heel when she made introductions? She needed the others where they were until the time was right.

The woman touched the doors, like she had the gates, and the doors threw themselves open. The curvaceous woman took the lead, the wicked man falling in step behind the woman and closing the doors behind them. Of course, their entrance had alarmed the residents and their guests, wands being aimed at the new comers.

"Who dares to burst into this house?" Lucius Malfoy demanded, attempting bravado. The wicked man only snorted softly while the curvaceous woman half hid her face with her shawl. "If you don't answer, I'll curse you where you stand."

"Easy, Wizard. I mean none of you any harm." The woman replied as the curvaceous woman stepped out of her way. "I am here to see the Dark Lord, your master. I know he's here and I happen to have a tidbit of quite _scintillating_ information for his ears."

Lucius looked wary, not sure whether or not to let this woman into the dining hall behind him. What if they were really spies, sent to kill the Dark Lord?

"Let her in, Lucius." The Dark Lord commanded. "No need to waste even the slightest shred of information when it could possibly benefit us in our cause against the muggles and those who oppose me."

"Right this way." Lucius told the woman, stepping out of her way and almost bowing her through the currently open doors. She walked past him with a posture and stride that reminded him of the Dark Lord and her companions reminded him of his own sister-in-law and Snape. It made Lucius wonder if they were married.

A chair was brought to the other head of the table, across from the Dark Lord, but a couple feet back. The woman graciously sat down, spreading her cloak open to show a dark magenta gown and unclasped her cloak pin. She gracefully shrugged her cloak off her shoulders and drew her hood back, revealing how young she was.

Her eyes, however, belied a dark soul that was far older than the body it inhabited.

"You are certainly a knowledgeable, powerful woman to find me here _and_ not a witch, for you addressed Lucius as 'Wizard'." The Dark Lord said, getting a smirk from the woman. "I'm curious as to your identity."

"I am the alchemist Dante and these are 2 of my homunculi, Lust and Greed." She responded as the curvaceous woman took off her shawl and the wicked man took his hands from his pockets. The red Oroboros stood out from their pale flesh. "I have 5 others under my command and I would like to interest you in a _very_ beneficial alliance."

"Oh?" The Dark Lord prompted.

"Have you heard of the Philosopher's Stone?" Dante inquired, like she was trying to make conversation. The Dark Lord nodded once, remember that fetid loss to Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore. "I know Flamel's attempt was called such but it was merely a Sorcerer's Stone, not truly the Philosopher's. It can—and has been made, more than once. And I know that you would care greatly for one."

"And you could make another?" He questioned suspiciously. She nodded once. "One that you'll just hand over to me? That doesn't benefit you."

"Oh, but I won't just give it away, you see. I'm afraid that I can't." Dante replied, almost loftily. But her words soon turned cold. "Not when I have to admit multiple defeats at the hands of my former husband's talented children. I can assure you, however, you will be able to use it, for a _true_ Philosopher's Stone is more powerful than you can imagine."

"Is that so?" The Dark Lord was interested now. A true Philosopher's Stone that put Flamel's to shame—oh, he would love to get his hands on that kind of power. "How long will it take you to make it?"

"I'm afraid a true Stone can't be 'made' by an alchemist, not the way you're no doubtedly thinking." Now, she was becoming a bit of a tease. "It has to be made by an alchemist's true power, in their _soul_. And I know in which alchemist it resides."

Now, _that_ had the Dark Lord's attention. "And you have agents close to this alchemist?"

Dante's eyes glittered darkly and her smirk deepened. "Oh, closer than they can imagine, my good Wizard. I have _three_ homunculi so very close to them that I can merely just give the word and they will bring that alchemist—and their conduit to me with little interference."

This brought a smirk to the Dark Lord's own lips. "This could prove to be a _most_ rewarding partnership, Lady Dante. Tell me _more_ of this true Stone. You have me intrigued."

* * *

Uh-oh...something tells me that Dante's got a certain someone in mind....

Greed: Aw, I knew you loved me, Baby.

NMW: Back off, carbon-breathe! I've got Ed on speed-dial! I'll have him kick your ass again!

Wrath: Yeah! *snatches NMW and holds her away from Greed* An' she's MINE, anyway!

NMW: *grabs cell phone nad presses speed dial* ED--GET ME OUT OF HERE AND I'LL COOK YOU DINNER FOR A MONTH!

...and while I'm fighting for my life, plz Read and Review!


	2. Joint Effort

Ah, chapter 2! Time to see what the REST of the world's up to, ne?

**Harpygirl91**: Thanks for the save. At least I don't have Envy to worry about, too...for the moment. And Dante with Voldy-moldy...-shivers- I'm with you there, hon.

* * *

Harry Potter/Sailor Moon

Full Metal Alchemist

**"Harry Potter and the Living Stone"**

**-**

**Chapter 2:**

**"Joint Effort"**

**-**

_**BOOM**_

"Well, that didn't work." Alphonse Elric coughed as his lab partner laughed softly at their smoking assignment. "I knew it should've worked but I didn't expect it to explode like that."

Hotaru Tomoe gently passed her hand before the smoke, using her essence to create a whirlpool in the center of the small dark gray pillar. The whirlpool sucked up the smoke, clearing the air around their station.

"You have to be a bit more careful, Alphonse." Hotaru gently chided as Alphonse dusted the small amount of soot off his Amestris State Military Academy uniform and Cadet Lieutenant Major ribbons. "Reactions are a lot stronger because we're at a mystic hub."

"I'll keep that in mind." Al coughed, getting a water bottle from his book bag. "My brother's lucky he doesn't need a circle. He just claps his hands once and away he goes. I could only do that when I had circles on my gloves."

Hotaru laughed softly as she took a handkerchief from her uniform vest's pocket to clean her glasses. "Just relax, Alphonse. You don't need to compare yourself with Edward. You have your own touch, your own way of doing things. Just do what you _feel_ should be done."

Alphonse looked past his water bottle at Hotaru in her Hokkaido Academy Suzaku Tower uniform with her long black hair pulled back into a semi ponytail and her long bangs brushing her right cheek bone. A soft blush came to his cheeks as he thought of how soft her gently rouged lips might actually be. Would they be as soft as they looked?

"That's not such a good idea when you're an alchemist, Hotaru." Alphonse mumbled, looking away before she saw his blush.

"It's the same with being a mystic. It's just what the energy inside you tells you it wants to be used for." Hotaru's laugh was like wind chimes in an early spring morning. It made Al's blush darken…and it made every cell in Al's body just plead to grab her by the biceps and crash his lips into hers.

The Military Academy didn't have girls like Hotaru. She was smart and pretty, totally on the same level with both Al and Ed. She understood things that made the Amestris girls scratch their heads over, like the way a transmutation circle channels and focuses energy and a misdrawn circle and cause your class assignment to explode in your face. And she didn't get mad over small mistakes.

Needless to say, Alphonse Elric of Resembool, Amestris had a big time crush on Hotaru Tomoe of Tokyo, Japan.

Why Fuhrer Bradley thought it was a good idea to have the State cadets come to the Mystic Isle, home of the elite Hokkaido Academy and the place where many great mystics—witches and wizards that used the energy around them and their own essence, instead of magic alone—was beyond Alphonse. At first, Edward had been against it, sort of, because it meant having to leave the majority of his work behind at their school but Alphonse had reminded him of the advantages of coming to another school. And Al had been glad he had talked his brother into coming…until he first saw Hotaru at the welcoming ceremony. Now Ed wouldn't stop bothering him about asking her out.

"Let's just redo everything and figure out where we went wrong." Hotaru suggested with a sweet smile. "It was probably my fault since I've never been good at alchemy."

"You, not good at something?" Al asked surprised, his blush instantly vanishing in his shock. "Now, _that_ I highly doubt. You've got straight A pluses across the board in math, science, cooking, potions—the very _foundations_ of alchemy. You just need a little more self-confidence. Doubt tweaks even the best of alchemists. That's how Ed ended up with a neon pink stuffed rabbit stuck to his uniform last year."

"A neon pink stuffed rabbit?" Hotaru repeated in disbelief with a laugh.

"He was _supposed_ to be making one of these weird bands that are supposed to cancel out aggressive alchemy but he wasn't really paying attention and ended up with a stuffed rabbit stuck to the collar of his jacket for a week and a half before First Lieutenant Hawkeye gave Ed mercy and made General Mustang remove it." Al shrugged. "I've got no idea how he got a rabbit out of a mixture that was two parts zinc, 5 parts iron shavings. I really don't."

"Edward with a rabbit stuck to his collar." Hotaru shook her head. "Please tell me he at least changed the color of the poor thing."

"He turned it white with a big red bow and gave it to Elicia Hughes." The blond replied, helping Hotaru clear their workspace. He watched as she rolled up her sleeves and got a cloth wet to get rid of their failed circle. She got it up pretty easy without using her essence and scrubbed away the soot on the polished hard wood.

"I have feeling that your brother wouldn't be too happy that you told me about his collar bunny." She replied, rinsing out the ink and soot of the cloth.

"He won't do anything about it." Al said distractedly, looking over their notes and formulas. What he didn't get was that it should've worked, since their calculations, measurements and circle were all correct. What was it they weren't getting?

_**BOOM**_

Alphonse looked up alarmed at the other smoking station. Russell Tringham and Usa Chiba were coughing and waving at the smoke of their misfortune. Their failure didn't make sense either. Usa was good at math and cooking, decent at potions and average at science. Russell would've been able to pick up any slack. And Al knew Usa had outlined the circle first, before they had put down their solid lines so the circle would be exact.

It didn't make any sense. Something as simple as making a plain Japanese tea set from just the base materials and using alchemy would've worked on Amestris. So, why wasn't it working on the Mystic Isle?

"That's it!" Al muttered, realizing what they were missing. "Hotaru, do you have any of that enchantment chalk with you?"

"You mean, the ether chalk we used in 2nd period?" She asked, getting a nod. "Yeah, I haven't had time to stop off at my room yet." Al grabbed her book bag off the station's bottom shelf by his and opened the pocket he had seen her put the cigarette case of ether chalk into. "Alphonse, what's going on through your head?"

"I was looking at our notes to see what we got wrong and we did everything _right_." Al explained quickly, opening the case and taking out a slender stick of ether chalk, one that had already been used earlier. "And then I remembered you said we were at a mystic hub, where all the essence of the reign flows to and from. Alchemy this close to the hub will fail because the hub and the gate are connected. Ed doesn't have any problems because the energy is converted automatically and naturally _inside_ him." He began to redraw their circle in the pale, pale purple chalk, the lines flowing from the piece like silk. "That's where we went wrong."

"The energy conversion of essence during a transmutation!" Hotaru earned a distracted nod and a smile from Alphonse. "We forgot to factor in the energy conversion into the actual transmutation and that's why it had an explosive reaction!"

"Now that we've figured it out, it shouldn't give us anymore trouble." The blond alchemist muttered, adding the finer points with the sharp point of the ether chalk. He finished the circle and put the chalk back into her case. "Get the tray ready. I've got a good feeling about this."

Setting the round steel tray on the circle, the 2 lab partners worked together to measure out their ingredients again. When they were finished with the measuring, they stood on opposite sides of the table and dusted off their hands.

"Ready, Hotaru?" Alphonse asked. Hotaru nodded. "On three. One…two…three."

They put their hand on their circle, channeling and coursing the energy into their transmutation. The circle glowed a pale indigo light and electricity surged over the tray and engulfed their ingredients. With a flash, the force of the combined and converted energy knocked the two off their feet and away from their station. Al caught the edge of the station behind him while Hotaru half crashed into the one behind her on the floor.

Hotaru groaned and grabbed the station behind her to haul herself onto her feet. "I haven't hit something that hard since Galaxia ambushed Setsuna and me at the Charon Castle." She muttered to herself. She looked at their station, seeing the tea set they had transmuted. "…Amazing…"

"You okay?" Alphonse asked, getting a distracted nod as he came to her side.

"Alphonse, _look_." Hotaru nodded towards their transmutation. Alphonse looked and he couldn't believe his eyes.

Their tea set was _perfect_. It was painted like a swirling night scene of dark blues, dark purples and blacks with a silver crescent moon and silver starbursts scattered amid the trio of dark colors. There were four cups and a teapot on their own tray on the steel tray.

"My God…" Alphonse mumbled as Hotaru brushed her bangs out of her eyes and glasses. He ran his hand through his hair in a degree of shock. "I can't believe that it worked and that we made _this_."

The other students were getting fed up. The station next to them used ether chalk as well, having watched Alphonse and Hotaru. The alchemy instructor, Professor William Dane, strolled over to inspect the duo's work, seeing they were the only pair just standing and staring at their station.

"Never in all my years of witnessing transmutations have I seen such a lovely end product." Professor Dane praised, getting Al to smile sheepishly with a bit of a blush and Hotaru to just blush a little embarrassed. Everyone was looking at them now, looking at their transmutation. The good professor took little notice. "Now, there's a box for each finished set by my desk—parchment paper inside. Wrap up your tea sets carefully and mark the outside and lids with both your names, station number and class period. Then _carefully_ stack them on the back tables along the far wall." He patted Hotaru and Alphonse on their shoulders. "Well done you two. Once you put your tea sat on the tables, you're free for an early lunch."

"Thank you, sir." Alphonse muttered.

"Oh, Miss Tomoe, hold still." Professor Dane told her in a soft voice, reaching a steady hand towards her forehead. He pulled something from her hair, his fingers lightly brushing her skin. A strange tingle surged through her nerves as Professor Dane assured her that it wasn't a spider, like he had suspected.

An impossible thought ran through her mind: Professor William Dane of Ireland was an artificial human.

Hotaru looked over the tops of her glasses. No, his aura was the same. This man was the auburn haired 42-year-old Applied Alchemic Theories teacher they had started the year with. So, why did she think that he wasn't who appeared to be?

"How peculiar." Hotaru murmured to herself.

"Something up, Hotaru?" Alphonse asked, returning to their station with a packing box. She hadn't even noticed he had stepped away. How odd.

"No, everything's fine." Hotaru disregarded that feeling, chalking it up to remnants of the discharge of the transmutation's converted energy. She helped Alphonse pack their tea set in their box and even wrote their information in Japanese below her lab partner's English scrawl, taking a permanent marker from her book bag's small pocket, the same one her ether chalk was usually in. "Alphonse, do you still have my ether chalk?"

"Oh, yeah, Sorry." Al took the case from his pocket. "I just put it in my pocket to get it out of harm's way."

"It's all right. I need it for my 6th period, that's all." Hotaru reassured, making sure none of her chalk was broken after the discharge. She tucked it in her book bag and zipped the pocket closed as Al carried their box to the back tables.

"…_None are safe…as long as the serpent lays close…"_

Hotaru's head snapped up and she looked for the source of that whisper. She felt the hints of a dark aura, a _demonic_ aura and sighed heavily under her breath. She _hated_ it when the tengu flew past the windows and whispered to her. They usually had some sort of message for her to hear but that meant going to the top of the Suzaku Tower—the _very_ top, since they roosted in the rafters above the crystal fires.

Hotaru huffed up her bangs in annoyance as she took her red blazer off the station's bottom shelf. A soft _ting_ made Hotaru realize her pass crystal had fallen out of her blazer's inner breast pocket. She picked it up by its chain and inspected the metal phoenix with its wings spread, perched on top of the crystal. It wasn't damaged, meaning nothing bad would happen when she would return to her room…or went to the roof to hear riddle spewing tengu and all their confusing wisdom.

_Damned demon crows._ Hotaru thought, putting her pass crystal around her neck and under her white school shirt. She carefully secured her blazer under the flap of her book bag and shouldered the strap, brushing all of her hair to drape down the front of her opposite shoulder.

Alphonse finally came back to their station to get his own book bag. "I got stopped by another pair. They wanted to know what they were doing wrong."

"What did you tell them?" Hotaru asked as they headed towards the classroom door. Al opened it to let her go first.

"To think about where they were and what we knew about areas like this." Alphonse answered, closing the door behind them. He chuckled. "They weren't too happy when I wouldn't give them the answer."

"Everyone has to do their own work." Hotaru didn't blame Al for not telling. If that pair wanted to know so badly, they could their brains and do their _own_ thinking. It was how Hotaru and Alphonse had figured it out.

Okay, mostly Alphonse.

Alphonse glanced at Hotaru from the corner of his eye as she fixed her bangs and moved them out of her line of sight. She was definitely one girl who didn't need to worry about her looks. She always used just a little eyeliner and a touch of lipstick before she left her room in the morning. That was all the make up she wore and _still_ looked amazing. It just added to how well she wore her school uniform, like the simple ruby dangles and simple red studs she wore in her ears and the small ruby stud in her right nostril.

Heat rose in Alphonse's face as he thought about just brushing his hand against hers or even just _holding_ her hand. He thought how her slender form would fit against his if he ever got the nerve to give her a hug. He wondered what her hair felt like between his fingers, what it smell like. And if he ever got enough of a spine, he'd tell her how he _really_ felt about her.

They were alone, heading down the stairs together. Maybe this was his chance.

"Yo, Alphonse!" Edward's laugh and bigger form knocked Al out of his daydreams, his arm playfully around his little brother's neck as the 2 teenagers paused on a landing. "Heard those explosions all the way up on the next floor in Theories of Diverse Mechanics. What the hell were you guys doing down there in Dane's class?"

"Transmutations." Hotaru replied, coming to Alphonse's rescue from his elder brother's nettling. "What were _you_ doing in Edogawa's class, Edward?"

"Something along the lines of String Theory, I think. I got lost when he started talking about some guy named 'Janice'." Ed earned a soft laugh. "What, I say something funny?"

"Not 'Janice' as in the woman's name. _Janus_, like the moon Janus of Saturn." Hotaru corrected with a laugh. "He's the Knight of Crossroads of Dimensions and if he was mentioned, then it was the Theory of Other Selves Doctor Edogawa was talking about."

"Oh, well, that makes a lot more sense than what I was thinking." Ed admitted, his arm still around Al's neck. "Hey, Hotaru, what are you doing for lunch? Wanna join me an' Al?"

"I don't see why not." Hotaru replied with a smile. "I've got to do something first so I'll just meet you two down there."

"Fine by us." Edward grinned. "Just don't take too long. We might not be able to save a seat for you."

"I'll make sure to be quick." Hotaru laughed, going on ahead of the two brothers.

Alphonse waited until Hotaru was gone before he shoved his brother with a dark crimson blush on his cheeks. "What the hell is with you?"

Ed just looked at his brother unimpressed. "Al, if you keep dragging your feet, some other guy's going to pick her up and he'll be a complete loser. You need to just jump in and tell her how you feel."

"Oh, like you and Winry?" Al shot back, getting his brother to laugh nervously. "You and her are on the rocks again, aren't you?"

Edward sighed, running his hand through his bangs. "Yeah. I told her that if she kept getting violent, then I'd have to ask for a post in the boondocks as soon as I graduated. She blew her stack and threw her wrench at me." Ed lifted up his t-shirt under his open uniform jacket, showing the large bruise on his abs. "She gave this to me when I told her she looked sexy while she was working."

Al sighed, glad that he didn't like someone as violent as Winry. Ed could take it, no doubting that, but Alphonse wanted more of a genteel kind of girl. Someone like Hotaru. No, not "someone like".

He wanted _Hotaru_.

* * *

AL'S GOT A CRUSH ON A GIRL! AL'S GOT A CRUSH ON A GIRL!

..... now that's out of my system...

Plz, read and review!


	3. Demon Riddles

Hello, there! Here's chapter 3!

**Harpygirl91:** Yay! Cookie! And yes, Alphonse/Hotaru are a cute couple.

-

Okay, so, **PAIRINGS** so far:

Edward/Winry (b/c Ed needs someone to reign him in and Winry REALLY needs to mellow out)

Alphonse/Hotaru (b/c even our ickle little Aru-chan needs someone...and Firefly needs a good guy to take care of her)

* * *

Harry Potter/Sailor Moon

Full Metal Alchemist

**"Harry Potter and the Living Stone"**

**-**

**Chapter 3:**

**"Demon Riddles"**

Of all the Towers the tengu chose to inhabit, it annoyed Hotaru that they had to have chosen the southern Tower of Suzaku. Everyone at Hokkaido Academy of the Mystic Arts knew that there was a large murder of tengu on the campus, not that the Amestris State Military Academy believed them. Very few of Hotaru's classmates knew that they roosted at the top of the Suzaku Tower and only one other person knew that the tengu loved to frustrate Hotaru with riddled messages that were as clear as Jupiter's Red Eye was green, like its Senshi's peepers.

The leader of the tengu, a human looking demon named Kurotengu, was kind of creepy. He never seemed to blink when he stared at Hotaru with those red eyes of his. He was, unfortunately, the leader because he was the strongest in his murder and the other tengu only echoed what he said. Why any of them had a fascination with the Senshi of Silence was beyond her but Hotaru knew that if she didn't go to him, Kurotengu would come to her and at the most ill appropriate of times, like when she was in the showers or changing her clothes.

The bastard had done it before.

Reaching the top of the Suzaku Tower, Hotaru wished that there really was a fire in the large dish that sat in the middle of this gazebo like floor space. Alas, there were only crystals and they reacted with the pass crystal under her shirt. The crystal fires were only called that because when they glowed, they looked like actual flames when you were out at sea…if you could see passed the Fog of Concealment.

"Look, Kurotengu—we need to talk about you shooting your tengu passed my classroom windows. It's starting to make it a little difficult to pretend I'm not your favorite person to torture. No one knows I'm your chosen whatever, other than Headmistress Hirahito." Hotaru spoke to the rafters. She couldn't see the tengu in the rafters at all, which was unusual. The murder always left a few tengu behind to protect it and Kurotengu rarely left their roost, since he couldn't pass off as a normal sized crow like most of his tengu could. "Kurotengu, this isn't funny. I've got to get back to the Main Tower for lunch. Where the hell are you, you overgrown Goth peacock?"

She should've known better by now. Insulting Kurotengu was _never_ a good thing. Hotaru was soon on her back, landing with a hard thud and her head hitting the hardwood. A large black foot was pinning her down over her body, her head between to sharp talons and another between her legs so she couldn't scoot free. Two other talons pinned her arms away from her body by her sleeves so she couldn't move. And over her loomed a the largest crow in current existence with four blood red eyes, thin pupils and the silver talon and red stone of tengu leadership around its neck. It opened its beak and showed razor sharp and jagged teeth and a forked, barbed tongue.

"_Carful with your words,_ Mystic_."_ Kurotengu's voice angrily purred. The giant tengu snapped at her, the tip of its beak just microns from her face. Hotaru couldn't help it—she let out a small shriek and closed her eyes, turning her head. She was helpless and the last time she insulted Kurotengu, he had haunted her sleep and gave her nightmares of him devouring her alive as he ravaged her. It was something that stuck with her, even now.

A cold, curved talon barely touched her cheek as her glasses were taken away. It was one of the signs she was in major trouble. Her nightmares had started out like this. And it only got worse when that tongue licked her cheek, the barbs collapsed and it taking its time to travel up the side of her face. It drew a soft panicked scream from her.

The tongue left her face but the thick saliva remained. Hotaru didn't need a sensitive sense of smell to know that this giant tengu had found something dead to feast on before it pinned her. The very idea that she might join that last meal made her body tremble softly. All the nightmares Kurotengu gave her started out like this—getting pinned, her glasses being taken and that damned tongue.

A hot breath caressed her cheek, cooling where the saliva was. The weight of that proof of leadership on her chest between the two clawed twos told Hotaru that tengu was so damn close to her, she was probably going to finally see if her nightmares were the dialed down version or an accurate portrayal.

"You think you would have learned by now." Kurotengu hissed. "I tolerate your presence when I could kill you. I could do to you as you now fear and you would never be able to stop me. Not even that Element would be enough to save you, for when you are truly frightened, it _never_ comes to your aid—not against _me_. Remember that."

"You're a real son of a bitch, Kurotengu." Hotaru managed to mutter despite her trembling. "You know that?"

"I am one of your _few_ weaknesses, Mystic, and I will not fall like those other paltry demons, like the _last_ Blood Talon." Kurotengu's claw tightened, drawing tighter against Hotaru's body and getting a whimpering gasp. "Though, I thank you for riding me of that fool."

"You were _nicer_ back then." Hotaru mutteringly shot back. Kurotengu _had_ been nicer back then, just 9 short years ago when she had been 8 years old. Hotaru had helped name him so she could tell him apart from the other tengu, in her innocence. He had been gentle back then, banishing her nightmares so she could sleep. The nightmares of her world and its fall were mostly gone now but they had been replaced with Kurotengu's _own_ fabrications.

"You have said it yourself." Kurotengu hissed softy in her ear. "You cannot hold your place if those who should fear you, lose that respect."

"You've been Blood Talon for 7 years, you bastard, and you've given me little peace over those years. I have a _right_ to be a little put off when you act like I belong to you." Hotaru managed to growl. Kurotengu growled and grabbed her by the throat, moved his foot and shot into the rafters. Hotaru grunted with a soft whimper when Kurotengu slammed her down on a rafter.

"You _do_ belong to me." Kurotengu growled, her amethyst eyes clashing with the blood red eyes behind a black elaborate half mask. His other hand gripped her thigh, half way up her skirt, getting Hotaru to let out a sharp scream. "You have belonged to me the first time I made you _scream_. I am your master and I do what I please with what belongs to me. Not even your headmistress can save you from demon laws. I can do to you as I please."

"But I'll have to ask you to release the young lady."

Kurotengu looked away from Hotaru and growled softly. "She belongs to _me_, even by _her_ laws. I made her scream. I defeated her. She is _my_ possession."

"Not until she's 17, Kurotengu. Hotaru's still 16. You'll have to wait until January 6th like every other suitor." It took Hotaru a few moments to realize who that voice belonged to. Only the headmistress, Iyase Hirahito, knew that Kurotengu used Hotaru and how the sorceress knew Hotaru was in trouble now was beyond the Senshi of Silence but she was so grateful for the save. "Release her and put her on her feet to deliver your message. She has always done what you want, come when you call and defend you against outsiders to your pact. It's not a good idea to continue to terrorize her when she's the Light of Chaos. You know if she gets scared enough, He _will_ come to her rescue in some manner and you will not like the results."

Kurotengu looked at Hirahito, then at Hotaru. With a dark growl, he pulled his hand from her thigh and slashed her left bicep. Hotaru let out a scream of pain and a bright silver light blasted Kurotengu off of the girl. Hotaru rolled off the rafter and landed on her feet, her hand over the new wound. She looked up at the blurry figure of Kurotengu standing on the rafters, licking her blood from his long fingers and sharp black nails. His eyes were on Hirahito and he knew she saw the shreds of cloth from her uniform.

Her glasses clattered on the hardwood but soon zoomed into Hirahito's hand. The headmistress didn't take her eyes off Kurotengu as she pressed her silver shawl to Hotaru's wound. While Kurotengu was fair with his murder of tengu and those of the Mystic Isle, more so than the last Blood Talon, the demon was still being far crueler than he had been.

"Come along, my dear. We need to have that looked at." Hirahito told the girl, helping her stand. Hotaru lightly bit the inside left edge of her bottom lip, trying not to cry. She didn't want to give the feathered prick the satisfaction.

"Just so you know, I didn't mean what I said the way you're taking it to mean." Hotaru said, getting Kurotengu's attention. "What I meant has a _lot_ more dangerous implications. It's something I've practiced myself. That's how I know how lethal it really is."

"Leave him be, dear." The headmistress coaxed, gently leading the girl to the stairs. "Oh, and Kurotengu—you and I are not yet finished. I've warned you about harming one of my students when you took the role of Blood Talon."

"I will do as I like with what belongs to me." Kurotengu growled darkly. "Just be pleased in the fact that I have only scratched her. I could have done as she feared before you even came to challenge me."

"To the bone isn't a scratch, Demon." Hirahito shot back darkly.

"…he's right…" Hotaru murmured softly, getting the headmistress's attention. "…he could've done a lot worse…I'm lucky to walk away with only this as a reward…"

"We will finish this later, Demon." Hirahito both promised and threatened, only getting Kurotengu to smirk. "Be assured in that knowledge."

"Looking forward to it, _Mystic_."

* * *

-sweatdrop- Wow, Kurotengu, you're sure digging yourself an early grave.

**Kurotengu:** -snort-

**Ed:** -jerks his thumb at the demon- Can I pull an InuYasha and kick his ass?

No, because Al would have to be Sesshomaru and as cute as you'd look with the beads and him with the fluffy thing, this is a HP/FMA/SM cross.

**Alphonse:** I got a question on the homunculi, since the Manga and the Anime 7 are different on a level.

Don't worry, Al. I've got it all figured out.

**Al:** Okay, if you say so.


	4. Enough is Enough

Ah, chapter 4.

**Harpygirl91:** Hahahaha! While that would be a good idea, he's gonna get a target painted on his chest by a certain blond alchemist.

Anyway, on with the show!

Oh, and sorry if it's short. It's still time frame as last chappie, just different point of view.

* * *

Harry Potter/Sailor Moon

Full Metal Alchemist

**"Harry Potter and the Living Stone"**

-

**Chapter 4:**

**"Enough is Enough"**

-

"Wonder what's takin' Hotaru so long." Edward muttered, looking around. Alphonse was half picking at his food, wishing his brother would stop match making, the pain in the ass. "She's usually here by now."

"Does it matter, Ed?" Al asked, a bit down. "She said she had to take care of something first."

"Yeah and that was about 20 minutes ago. It's _lunch_, little brother." Ed shot back distractedly. He looked at Al and noticed his expression. "Al, what's wrong?"

"I can't do it, Ed. I just can't." Al admitted, looking up at his brother. "I can't tell her. I—I can't get up the nerve and every time I do, something cuts in. It's like fate's telling me to give up."

"_No_, that would be that annoying little voice at the back of your mind, Al." Edward corrected. "You just need to be a little more determined." A fine tremor of power snapped through Edward, alerting him to something that shouldn't have happened. "Did you feel that?"

"Feel what?" His little brother inquired cluelessly as Ed got up from his seat. "Brother, where are you going?"

"I'll be right back. If she gets here before I do, tell her to just sit down."

Edward half strode across the Hokkaido lunch room and into the hall. He stopped for a minute, trying to locate that power he had felt. Locating it, he hustled down the hall to the stairs and took them 3 at a time, going up 6 floors before turning left and hustling to a half opened door. It was one of the infirmaries in the school, each floor having their own for immediate treatment. If Ed remembered correctly, this was one that he helped Mustang equip with alchemic reversal circles on the floors, walls, ceiling and the furniture.

He crouched by the door, noticing the light was on. He knew someone was inside and that power led him straight to it. Keeping his back to the all by the frame, Edward took his folding knife from his boot and flicked it open to use the blade like a mirror to see inside the room.

"You're lucky to only come away with 4 little gashes, Miss Tomoe." The unmistakable voice of Doctor Tim Marcoh replied as Ed angled his blade just right to get an idea of what was going on. It had been common knowledge amongst the alchemists that Marcoh had come to the school on the request of Headmistress Iyase Hirahito but why he was administering medical attention to Hotaru was beyond Edward.

Hotaru was only half dressed, her left—no, _right_ arm and shoulder exposed and being treated. There were bloody tears in her crimson blazer and white dress shirt, her blood making the red of her blazer only darker. The Hokkaido headmistress was perched on a spindly silver chair with three legs, her usually flowing shawl around her shoulders across the room where it was half hanging out of the sink.

Edward never could get over the fact that this 30-plus-year-old woman was actually in her 600s and was the most powerful sorceress in all of Asia. She dressed in a dark silver kimono styled dress that easily spilled around her feet, a silver obi with a bow that resembled fine fairy wings and half of her long silvery white hair in a bun, pinned with fine silver combs. Her bright mercury eyes were lined with a fine metallic gray and shadowed with a smoky shadow. Her lips were a fine shade of rose pink and she wore the lightest of silver hues as polish on her long nails.

Her earrings were most unusual, each having four chains. The longest chain on her left earring only reached her shoulder, that of the right reached her hip with the others going to the end of her ribs, her mid bicep and her shoulder. Around her slender neck was a silver silk choker with her own personal pass crystal framed in intricate weavings of silver cherry blossom sprigs.

Now, as surprised as he was to see the headmistress, Edward was soon drawn to Marcoh treating the four slanting gashes in her right bicep. When the man cleaned the blood from her arm, Ed could _swear_ he saw bone despite the restrained blood that was no doubt the headmistress's doing. What in God's name would hurt Hotaru so badly?

"You'd think I'd learn to stop insulting him to his face." Hotaru smiled softly, mournfully.

"I hope you understand, Hotaru, but I can't let this slide." Hirahito replied as Marcoh picked up a curved needle and sterilized it. "He swore that he wouldn't harm a student as long as I let him and his murder roost on this island. He has gone against our agreement."

"He's right, though." Hotaru mumbled as the Crystal Alchemist threaded the now sterile needle. "I screamed, I showed weakness. I belong to him."

"You were 14, Hotaru. He had no right to give you those nightmares." The headmistress said firmly, the usual dreamy and young purr absent. Was Ed getting to hear her _normal_ voice?

"This may hurt a bit, Miss Tomoe." Marcoh warned before he stuck the girl with his needle. Edward was both disgusted and transfixed as he watched Marcoh slowly and tightly stitch the first gash.

"He's under a lot of stress. He's the leader of the prominent demon population on the Mystic Isle and that's the only reason he's able to keep the _other_ demons and fiends to agree to that 'no harming students' policy." Hotaru was actually _defending_ her attacker? Was she insane?

Hirahito sighed softly. "I know you don't want the tengu to get hurt, Hotaru, but Kurotengu went too far this time. He needs to understand the meaning of 'restraint'."

Kurotengu? Wasn't that the name of the Blood Talon of the Isle's murder of tengu? They roosted somewhere so far undiscovered on the island and it was apparently a bitch to get to. Wherever it was, the tengu were amazingly safe so they had grown to a surprising number and were now the reigning demon collective. Any demon who dared to mess with the school or the fine agreement between Hirahito and Kurotengu, found themselves meeting the crow demon leader in person and finding out the hard way that you didn't go against him.

And Hotaru was defending the bastard when he hurt her!

"He's still new to his position." Hotaru tried to explain. "He has yet to find the stride that works."

"Hotaru, you're not going to talk me out of finishing what he started when he threatened you." Hirahito responded, undaunted. Marcoh cut the thread after tying off his work on the first gash, rethreaded the needle and got to work on the second in line.

Hotaru sighed softly. "I know but he's still the sweet bird I remember."

"Perhaps he is but it didn't change what he did." The headmistress said gently. "He needs to understand that you're still a student and until you graduate, you're under my protection. You're 16, Hotaru, and a very brilliant girl. You know what I'm saying rings of the truth."

Edward had enough. He couldn't just stand there. He closed his knife, tucked it in his boot and stalked to the stairs. Hotaru was going to tell him what was going on, even if Ed had to inflict more damage to that wound of hers. She and Al would probably kill him but Ed wanted straight answers—like where Kurotengu and his murder of crow demons were roosting. It was about time someone put that damned bird in his place.

* * *

Wow, don't get in over your head there, Edo-chan.

**Ed**: What's with the "chan"? I'm older than you.

So? I'm the writer.

**Envy:** Nuu-chan!

AAAAAAH! -runs away- ANYONE BUT YOU!

**Envy:** -in hot pursuit- Come back, my feline angel!

SOMEONE CALL MAJOR GENERAL ARMSTRONG! I NEED BACK UP!

-skids to a stop and bows- please read and review!

**Envy:** NUU-CHAN!

SHIT! -runs off again-


	5. Blood, Wounds and Nightmares

Huh. No reviews. Oh, well!

Here's Chapter 5! Enjoy!

* * *

Harry Potter/Sailor Moon

Full Metal Alchemist

**"Harry Potter and the Living Stone"**

**-**

**Chapter 5:**

**"Blood, Wounds and Nightmares"**

**-**

Losing blood and confronting Kurotengu had put Hotaru off her appetite. She had gone to her room when Doctor Marcoh was done with her arm and had just gone to bed. The headmistress had informed the teachers that Hotaru had had a bloody encounter and wasn't to be disturbed unless it was an absolutely dire emergency. And thus Hotaru was able to sleep most of her day away and a bit into the night.

She was sleeping on her left side, her back to her door and open window. She normally slept with her back to her wall but Marcoh had told her to stay off her right bicep until it healed. He had even given her a pain reliever and sleeping pills, which sat on her bedside table in orange prescription bottles by her glass of water, her book and glasses.

Almost everyone in the Suzaku Tower were asleep and if they weren't asleep, they were studying for a big test. It meant the Tower was quiet, even with the State cadets amidst their ranks and in their own rooms. And so far, Hotaru was sleeping peacefully with a few soft whimpers of a coming nightmare. Even in a drugged sleep, Kurotengu's nightmares managed to reach her but the soft sound of wings didn't even wake her, like it should've.

Kurotengu stood from the crouch he had softly landed in. His human form wouldn't alert the Senshi of Mars on the top floor with the other Suzaku advisors. It was an advantage to being a powerful demon. And getting to be able to sneak into a girl's room while not being detected was certainly a plus.

His foot falls barely made a sound on the tatami mats as he neared Hotaru's bed, only gauzy curtains hanging from the ceiling kept them apart. Kurotengu could still see her figure clearly so the curtains weren't a real deterrent or much of an annoyance. Hotaru was only covered to her waist, keeping her bedding off her tender right bicep. She wore a cream silk spaghetti strap night gown with lace on the collar, hem and the short row of pearly buttons that were only half way buttoned. Her long hair was loosely braided out of her way, tied with a matching ribbon. She didn't have any make up on, other than chapstick, and she had taken out all of her piercings, except for her nose pierce and her belly button ring, no doubt.

Kurotengu gently pushed aside the curtain to get a better look at the sleeping Senshi. She half whined, half groaned in her sleep as the images of the tengu leader forcing himself on her as he tore her apart replayed in her head, like every time she had had that nightmare. He knew her bicep hurt, from the way she whimpered when she moved her right shoulder, the muscles pulling at her damaged flesh. Her soft, fearful mumblings and movements only eased when Kurotengu caressed her cheek with the backs of a couple fingers.

The nightmares would never leave her, not fully, but once she learned that they only eased with the touch of their creator, then Hotaru wouldn't just come to him when he sent a tengu to summon her. She would possibly even let him back into her room willingly and let him ease the terrors he gave her.

Of course, it was something she would have to find out for herself.

A soft, sharp gasp from Hotaru told Kurotengu that he had come too late—she was already at the climax of her nightmare. Hotaru woke with a short scream, sitting up instantly and startling Kurotengu, not that he showed it as he silently jumped back from her bed. Her scream, of course, had been enough to alert anyone who had been up and was naturally on guard.

Anyone like the two blond brothers that burst into her room to check on her.

"Hotaru—are you okay?" Alphonse asked, rushing to her side in his school's sweat pants and t-shirt. Edward, dressed in the sweat pants and a white tank top, just clapped his hands once and touched his metal forearm, noticing the black clad demon.

"You must be Kurotengu." Ed growled, a blade forming with a light blue transmutation. Ah, so they were alchemists, that explained a lot. Kurotengu gave the eldest male a single, semi curt nod. "I saw what you did to her. It's not in her nature to give payback so I'll have to be the one to collect in her stead. Al, keep her out of harm's way."

"Sure, Ed." Al responded, holding Hotaru to comfort her. She was hanging onto him, her body shaking from her nightmare. Kurotengu glanced at her, watched how badly his own payback for a small insult had scared her. It, of course, gave Edward the opening he needed. The blond rushed forward and slashed at the tengu leader's chest.

Kurotengu leapt backwards in time, only getting his black kimono front cut, and landed in a crouch on Hotaru's windowsill. Alphonse was trying to reassure Hotaru and Edward had slid between the tengu and the 2 16-year-olds. It wasn't a sight that Kurotengu much appreciated but he got the message—he had overstayed his welcome.

"Know this, _human_, that mystic belongs to _me_." Kurotengu warned before pushing back with his legs. Ed ran to the window to watch the man fall a few floors before he transformed into the largest bird Ed had ever seen and pulled up from his leisurely dive before soaring up into the dark sky and passed the top of Suzaku Tower.

"Damn bird." Ed muttered, putting his hands to together one more time and touching his arm to return it to normal again. He closed Hotaru's window and looked over at his little brother. Alphonse wasn't even blushing as he held Hotaru. He'd have to give Al a little bit of a hard time about this later. "You don't have to worry about _him_ for awhile, Hotaru. He's not going to bother you again tonight."

"Brother." Al said softly, his voice wavering slightly. He looked up at his brother, concern and pain swirling around his eyes. Edward had no idea what was wrong until Al showed him his hand. "She's bleeding. I don't know where but she's bleeding."

"Easy, Al. Just push her gently away so we can look at her face." Ed instructed coming over to the bed. Al was careful of her bicep and gently pushed Hotaru back from having her face in his chest. Ed tilted her chin up and moved her bangs out of his way. "Yeah, see? She got knicked when she startled him. He was here long before she screamed and we came running. He had to have been touching her face." Ed plucked a handkerchief sticking out of her book bag and put it to her cheek. "We'll just hold this here and get you to the infirmary."

Ed and Al helped Hotaru out of bed and Al supported her with his arm around her waist. She was still shaky, which was completely understandable. Ed had asked around the Tower of the Phoenix and found out that Hotaru had some _really_ violent nightmares. Her waking up with a scream usually brought one of her classmates running to her room at least once or twice a week.

Having had bad dreams since she before she came to Hokkaido, it was understandable why she didn't have a roommate in these later years. However, these _new_ nightmares actually had her screaming, even if it was softly. Hotaru was a quiet, demur person. Hearing that kind of sound from her room had a tendency to alarm people, hence why her classmates came to check on her at least once a week when she screamed.

As Ed suspected, the infirmary was dark but not locked. The advisors left it open for students to use at all hours and the phoenixes of Suzaku Tower were good about only going there when they had to. It was part of why Hokkaido Academy was the best magic school in Asia, like England's Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was Europe's best.

"Sit her here, Al." Ed instructed moving a chair back from the nurse's desk. Al helped Hotaru sit down while Ed looked for the hydrogen peroxide or iodine, anything to clean those two thin cuts on her cheek. "Dammit, why does everything have to be so damn hard to locate?"

"There a _problem_, Full Metal?"

Edward mentally groaned at the annoyed tone Brigadier General Roy Mustang, the Flame Alchemist, was using. He looked over at the door and sure enough, there was his superior and instructor leaning up against the still open doorframe, his forearm as support and a fist on his waist.

"None that we can't handle, sir." Ed replied with a slight exasperated sigh.

"Did you know that Briggs just woke me up at a little past 1 am because he heard a girl scream and saw you two burst into a girl's room about 10 minutes ago?" Mustang half demanded, his annoyance clear. Briggs wasn't an alchemist, just a Cadet Warrant Officer. "What the _hell_ did you drag your little brother into that made you both bust into a girl's room and make her scream, Full Metal?"

"Correction, sir?" Ed said as he stood from crouching to search lower shelves of a cabinet. Mustang nodded. "Hotaru screamed _before_ we came running. That's _why_ we went into her room, to make sure she was all right. She woke up from a nightmare and screamed. She's been injured once today and has 2 light cuts on her cheek that I'd like to tend to, if you don't mind, _sir_."

"Injured?" Mustang repeated, surprised. Alphonse moved back from Hotaru to show the Senshi of Silence sitting like a lady in her nightgown, a handkerchief to her cheek. Mustang saw her wrapped bicep instantly. "Oh, Marcoh's stitch up from this afternoon. Let's get that new one taken care of."

Mustang came into the infirmary and moved Ed out of his way, getting swabs, a clean cloth and the iodine in one swoop. He set everything on the desk next to the chair and knelt in front of Hotaru, gently making her move her hand and bloody handkerchief back. He moved her chin to the side and brushed her bangs out of his way to get a better look at the damage.

"Someone got you good twice in one day, sweetheart." Mustang replied, speaking gently to Hotaru. He was trying to keep her calm. She was still shaking pretty bad. "I'd hate to see what you did to the other guy. He must be in worse shape if he managed to cut your pretty face." Ed and Al didn't say anything as Mustang took a swab and uncapped the iodine. He dipped the swap into the solution then gently but firmly gripped Hotaru's chin. "This is going to sting a little, sweetie, but it'll do it's job and keep these from getting infected."

Mustang gently touched the swab to her cheek, getting Hotaru to hiss and try to pull back but Mustang wouldn't let her. "I know. I know. It hurts. It hurts. I'll do this as fast as I can." His strokes with the swab were smooth, fluid and as gentle as possible. Hotaru bit her lower lip to keep from pulling away. "Full Metal, clean up your brother before that blood on his shirt stains."

Ed looked at the small amount of blood on Al's gray shirt. "Uh, yes, sir. Al, gimme you shirt." Alphonse didn't even think twice. He just pulled off his shirt and gave it to his brother. Edward went to the sink to wash out the blood and found the hydrogen peroxide. "Goddammit, someone needs to give this nurse a lesson on organization. Whoever it is could learn a thing or two from the medics at the Academy."

"Just do your job, Full Metal." Mustang lightly chided. "Soul, bring me that bottle when he's done with it."

"Yes, sir." Alphonse responded, noticing Hotaru's nightgown and suddenly feeling awkward. He should've remembered that Hotaru was in the room and he should have thought to grab her something to make her a little more decent….though that nightgown did look really good on her.

Alphonse moved closer to his brother, a deep blush coloring his face. Edward saw his brother's blush and laughed silently as Al rubbed his own bicep, trying to not feel so awkward. Unlike his brother, Al didn't have automail that gave him extra muscle just carrying it around and using it on a daily basis. Boot camp, training and outdoor exercises gave the younger Elric brother the majority of his current muscle mass.

"You are such a spaz." Ed muttered to his sheepish brother. "You shouldn't be so embarrassed. You're an Elric. You look good."

"Easy for you to say." Al muttered in response. "You _have_ a girlfriend and it's not _your_ alchemy lab partner in the silk nightgown."

"Oh, her nightgown's silk?" Ed asked then shrugged. "Hadn't noticed."

"Ed!" Alphonse hissed softly.

"Get the stick out of your ass, Al, and ask her out already!" Edward hissed softly in return. "Protect her from that damn bird man. He's the one who hurt her before, the reason why she missed lunch and the rest of the day."

"He's a _demon_, Ed! Alchemists don't fight demons!" Alphonse shot back. "We're no match for them! Mystics, wizards—_they_ handle demons. They can take one like Kurotengu on and manage to survive. What the hell do you expect _me_ to do when I'm still the brother that has to use circles to be careful just because of what my _soul_ was converted into by Scar? Use the power from the Philosopher--"

Edward clamped his flesh hand over Al's mouth and glanced at Mustang, who was cleaning that second cut on Hotaru's cheek. Hopefully he hadn't noticed or heard what the boys were talking about. Ed kept his hand over his brother's mouth and grabbed him by the base of the skull.

"Don't _ever_ mention that here! We have _no_ idea what they'd do to you if anyone _that_ out! I'm not going to risk losing you again, got it?" Ed hissed in a barely audible tone. Alphonse saw the worry in his elder brother's eyes and nodded. Edward released his brother slowly. "I didn't hurt you, did I?" Al shook his head. "That's good. You know we have to be careful. They never found that bitch's remains and God only knows what happened to those freaks of nature. Dad's been keeping his distance to keep her and them away from us. We can only hope they don't know that we're here."

"And what if they _do_ and they're here, too?" Al asked softly, watching his brother just give up scrubbing at the blood on his shirt. Ed clapped his hands once and touched his brother's shirt, making it good as new before tossing it back to Alphonse.

"I don't know, Al. I _really_ don't know."

* * *

**Ed:** For the love of GOD, Nuu! Let me GUT the bastard!

No, Ed! I can't let you do that! He's a main char! Get over it!

-bows to readers- Plz read and review.

...I've got to go wrestle a straight jacket onto a certain blonde-ponytailed alchemist before he ruins my story.


	6. Say It Only Once

Finally, chapter 6!

**Harpygirl91:** O.o ....do I even WANT to know what that thing in your hands happens to be, Harpy-chan...?

**Fullmetal Knight:** ^_^ Yes, Alphonse/Hotaru is a VERY nice thing. They totally deserve each other, in my book.

* * *

Harry Potter/Sailor Moon/Full Metal Alchemist

**"Harry Potter and the Living Stone"**

**-**

**Chapter 6:**

**"Say It Only Once"**

**-**

"Oh, my God—Hotaru!" Usa threw her arms around her best friend's shoulders, leaning against the girl's wounded bicep. "What in Sweet Serenity happened to your face?"

Hotaru growled like a cat and pulled Usa off of her, pinning her to the wall with both wrists to her chest, held in place by Hotaru's left hand. "Don't touch my right arm and don't hang on me. Do either and there's one less Moon Princess for me to worry about."

"Whatever you say, 'Taru." Usa nodded, surprised at the reaction. "You gonna tell me why you've got butterfly bandages on your cheek?"

"Power fluxed." Hotaru said automatically.

"Oh, ouch." The Future Moon Princess winced softly. "Got your right arm, too, huh?"

"Something like that."

Hotaru sat down in the Suzaku Tower dining hall, breakfast instantly appearing in front of her. She had little patience for anything today. With the lack of sleep, a repeat of that damned nightmare and getting hurt, Hotaru was ready to murder anything that rubbed her the wrong way. Usa just needed a warning and she'd be more careful. Thankfully, she wasn't as bad as her mother.

"I've got a test in Home Economics." Usa grumbled, remembering her daily schedule. "You got any today?"

"Make up work. Missed the last two periods." Hotaru answered, getting Usa to sigh heavily. "Forgot what you studied?"

"Yeah and it's the unit exam. I _hate_ unit exams." The pink haired girl sighed heavily once more as Edward and Alphonse came down to join the girls. Russell and Fletcher weren't down quite yet.

"Morning, Hotaru, Rabbit." Edward greeted, sitting across from Hotaru but down a chair, which made Alphonse sit in front of Hotaru.

"God, Elric—don't call me that!" Usa half complained. "You've got Tringham started on it, too! Alphonse, can't you put a muzzle on him?"

Al looked at his brother then at Usa. "Wouldn't work. He chewed through the last one."

"Ha. Ha. Very funny." Ed shot back sarcastically. "Remember, Al—you're a State dog, too."

"Yeah, fair enough." The younger Elric conceded. Hotaru just ate her breakfast in silence. She _really_ wasn't in the mood for anymore chit-chat.

Ed and Usa picked on each other, going back and forth with Al playing the mediator-slash-advocate. Hotaru was just in her own little world, trying to remember the last time she had been this achy, even _after_ pain medication. For some reason, she kept thinking back to a spot in her memory that was either foggy or fragmented.

Was there something she was forgetting?

"Have you talked to Setsuna?" Usa asked, catching Hotaru unaware for a second.

"What?"

"Have. You. Talked. To. Setsuna?" Usa repeated, breaking up the question.

"I'm half asleep, not slow." Hotaru shot back, slightly annoyed. "And no, I haven't. It's like Haruka said—she's busy."

"Why are you guys talking about the librarian?" Russell asked as he and Fletcher joined the quartet.

"No reason." Usa dismissed.

"She's all right." Hotaru said softly, getting Usa to look at her. "I'm sure she is…she's been quiet for much longer before…"

Gentle, sisterly hands rested lightly on Hotaru's shoulders, making her look up Rei. The Senshi of Fire kissed Hotaru's temple. "That's right, sweetie. It's best not to dwell on it."

"Dwell on what?" Hotaru asked clueless. "Did something happen and I not know?"

"On being separated from her, honey. It's almost like you're both worlds away. It's not something that can benefit people like us." Rei replied, giving her a hug around the shoulders, careful of Hotaru's right bicep. "Just be strong for a little while longer. You'll connect sooner than you think."

"Without Minako, you get _really_ Horoscpoe-esque." Hotaru muttered, getting Rei to smile at the light tease.

"It'll be fine. Just wait." Rei told her gently. "You'll see."

Hotaru waited until Rei wandered off to tend to the other students. "Is it just me or is she hiding something? It seemed to me like she was lying about something."

"Didn't notice." Usa admitted. "Her sacred powers make her hard for me to read."

"Only because you don't practice." Hotaru shot back.

"Oh, yeah—pick on the rabbit."

"…_None are safe…as long as the serpent lays close…"_

The tengu, they were whispering to her again. She hadn't gotten anything more than the cuts on her arm yesterday. Hotaru mentally groaned. If she went up to see Kurotengu now, she'd be late for class. If she didn't, she could receive more trophies than what she already had. The very conundrum made Hotaru groan under her breath.

She was _so_ going to get detention _and_ a demerit for this.

"Something the matter, Hotaru?" Alphonse asked, wondering what had her attention now.

"It's nothing." Hotaru dismissed, Al not saying anything about it.

Ed, however, doubted it was that simple. From the way Kurotengu had spoken, what he said and the very fact he had been in Hotaru's room had the eldest Elric thinking. After all, it was unusual for a demon to lay claim to a human, and being the room of a sleeping human—_especially_ that of a mystic. Demons and mystics rarely got along. Treaties, agreements were made but there was still a tension that couldn't be erased and yet, Hotaru hadn't woken up at all when Kurotengu had come into her room. It could have been the sleeping pills but Ed _highly_ doubted it.

As usual, Hotaru finished her breakfast first but instead of sticking around and idly sipping her tea, like she usually did until class, Hotaru finished off her morning tea and let all her dishes disappear. She rose from her seat, excusing herself for something she had forgotten in her room…which was unlikely, given Hotaru rarely forgot anything.

Hotaru headed towards the crystal fire again, knowing that Kurotengu was likely to pluck her from her dash to school if she avoided him. He hadn't done that yet but he had flown into her room before and scooped her out of bed when she had skipped a meeting a previous afternoon. She had woken up in his nest with his demon form looking down at her slightly annoyed the next morning.

Kurotengu hated it when she didn't drop everything to go see what he wanted.

And he was likely to be in his nest this early in the morning if he wasn't out flying for something to eat. If he was out, she'd just leave a message that she was sorry that they missed each other and she'd come to see him at lunch instead. It had placated him before but he had been a short fuse and confrontational the entire time.

Of course, a wounded, half drugged Arithian female could be just as confrontational when push came to shove…and nobody wanted to run into a confrontational Chimera with more power than God and barely any mastery over same said power. The Senshi's many enemies had learned that the hard way.

Reaching the top of Suzaku Tower, Hotaru's pass crystal made the crystal fires glow softly. In the gentle light, Hotaru could see that there were tengu both asleep and on guard. The guards looked at Hotaru with their red eyes and tilted their heads at her. These tengu were about twice the size of the regular tengu, being the equivalent of sentinels. The ones Hotaru had to be careful of were Kurotengu's 4 large bodyguards. They were almost as big as their Blood Talon but couldn't take on a complete human form…and they weren't too fond of mystics, making Hotaru's position rather shaky.

Since it looked like the entire murder was there, other than the scouts to insure the other demons were doing as they were supposed to—leaving humans and mystics alone, that meant Kurotengu was probably in his nest, waiting for her. Hotaru didn't want to wake the sleeping tengu, since they did look rather cute with their eyes closed and heads tucked under their wings, so calling out to him was out of the question. That meant she'd have to climb up to go see him, not a first for the Senshi of Silence.

Hotaru put her finger to her lips to signal the guards to be quiet before she stepped onto the railing around the edge of the floor. She used the support molding to climb up to the rafters with ease and sat on the mostly empty rafter she had hauled herself up on. A guard pointed towards a safe path she could take around the edge of the sleeping murder with its foot, even using a toe. Hotaru gave the demon crow a nod of thanks before getting to her feet.

It was Hirahito's magic that gave Kurotengu such a spacious roost for his large murder. As long as the murder didn't go around causing trouble, the headmistress would let them keep their home of 7 years. Kurotengu had lived in these rafters for 9 so his nest was made in the deepest corner and spanned about half of a couple rafters. It was big enough for his demon form and any young tengu to take shelter with him in winter. He was a big softie like that.

Hotaru carefully took the path the guard had indicated and made her way to the rafter where the first bodyguard was posted. It eyed Hotaru darkly but didn't do anything. As Kurotengu kept saying, Hotaru belonged to the Blood Talon and since she was already sporting two wounds from the pain in the ass, they weren't going to do anything to her. It was there logic that Hotaru had been punished in person and thus probably had more coming.

She was hoping that latter part wasn't the case.

Passed that bodyguard, Kurotengu's nest was hidden by black cloth, mainly to keep the light out of his sensitive eyes and to keep him and the young tengu warm in the winter. The elder tengu were strong enough to survive a winter perched close together but the young had to grow the thicker feathers before they could spend winter evenings with their parents. Though, as far as Hotaru knew, Kurotengu hadn't had any young of his own. He had been leader for only 7 years, so he had plenty of time for that kind of stuff later.

Hotaru passed one of the other bodyguards, which let her pass like the other one. It shared a rafter with a third bodyguard that just glanced at Hotaru before looking away. The last one Hotaru had to get passed was the most vicious. _That_ one had done damage to Hotaru before. She had to be careful with how she approached it…but it seemed suspiciously absent and then the fact that the _other_ 3 were on point made sense.

Kurotengu sent it on some sort of clean up with an out-of-line demon.

Hotaru gave the 3 bodyguards a polite bow, getting nods of acknowledgement in return before they went back to watching for anything that would threaten their Blood Talon. She slipped through the overlapping part in the curtains and expected Kurotengu to be awake and sort of unhappy with her delay. She, however, was surprised when she saw that wasn't the case.

The pain in the ass was _asleep_.

Hotaru wondered why he'd send a tengu for her if he was just going to go to sleep but now that she thought of it, the tengu's message hadn't changed from yesterday. It was unusual for them to have repeating messages. She carefully slipped out of her shoes and quietly crawled onto the black feather coated nest. She had almost forgotten that Kurotengu lined his nest with his heavier feathers from winter. He was almost as finicky as she was when it came to being warm. The very thought made her smile and bite her lower lip to keep from laughing out loud.

Kurotengu was on his back as a human, his arm thrown of her his eyes. It was like he was still trying to sleep with his head under his wing, even in human form. And as far as she could tell, he wasn't wearing that mask of his. He _always_ wore it when Hotaru came to him, like he was trying to hide what he really looked like from her. When Hotaru first saw it, she thought it was just apart of him. The fact that it was on his feathered cloak and most of his clothes just proved to her that it was removable.

He looked sort of peaceful in his black fur blanket and his arm over his eyes. Hotaru could see the fangs all demons had in human form and his pointed ears, the Blood Talon amulet around his neck and resting on his bared and scarred chest. It struck her as odd that he'd be sleeping as a human, since he had told her he slept in his demon form. Was this little white lie also a reason for the curtains?

Hotaru sat like a lady close to him, waiting for him to wake up. He'd probably kill her for staying, for finding him like this but he'd more likely to smash into her classroom to get her because she hadn't stayed to hear what had to be told.

Kurotengu moved in his sleep, like he was uneasy, like he was having a bad dream. He rolled over onto his stomach, his black hair falling into his face and folding his arm to hide his head. He was still trying to sleep with his head under his wing. This just confirmed it.

Hotaru wished she had thought to bring a book but then again, she hadn't expected that he'd be asleep. Body heat and a weight on her thighs made Hotaru look down at her lap. Kurotengu was half on her legs, his head resting on her top thigh and his arm_ still_ over his head. Hotaru just smiled softly and took off her blazer, draping it over his shoulders and a little over his folded arm. She certainly wasn't going anywhere now.

All she could was wait for him to wake up on his own, no matter how long it took.

8-8-8-8

There was a reason why Kurotengu didn't sleep as a human, aside from having to strip to nothing in order to be comfortable. He felt a weight on his chest, making him wake up and look at what it was. The surprise of his long life hit his brain, making it go blank.

Hotaru was half laying on his chest, using her own arm as a pillow and her right hand just resting on his chest, her glasses hooked around two fingers. She had dozed off waiting for him to wake up…and he was propped up on her lap, her blazer beneath him and his furs still over his waist mercifully.

The fact that she was asleep didn't surprise him any. It was the fact that she had seen _him_ sleeping and as a _human_, that she had let him put himself in her lap, that she had returned the favor in a way…that she hadn't killed him, ridding herself of his near tyrannical presence. That she hadn't paid him back for her bicep or face.

Damn him, he had cut her face. He hadn't meant to but he had. If it scarred, it was going to piss him off something fierce. She was too pretty to be scarred…for a mystic.

Kurotengu put his arm over her waist and rested his other hand over her right wrist. If she was going to sleep on him, then he was going to enjoy that unintentional attention while he had it. She curled up more, much like a cat, her legs drawing closer to her body and propping Kurotengu up more.

Despite having her come to him, Kurotengu was curious on what brought her here. Had she figured out that his touch calmed the nightmares?

No, that tengu he sent earlier must've delivered the same message again, since he hadn't told her what it was about. And once he did, she would leave to go try to figure it out. She'd go to the library to do research on the various clues, like she had time and time before.

Eyelashes tickling his flesh alerted Kurotengu to the fact that Hotaru was waking up, possibly because she sensed his breathing had changed. She sat up and wiped the products of sleep from her eyes. Kurotengu didn't even bother to hide his face. She had come to him, slept in his company, proved that she could be trusted while he was sleeping.

"Sorry, didn't mean to doze off." Hotaru apologized, gingerly pressing her butterfly bandages down, like they had come undone as Kurotengu sat up.

"You have nothing to apologize for." Kurotengu replied, catching her chin. He leaned forward and kissed her lips, surprising the 16-year-old Senshi. He pulled back, his red eyes only open half way. "You have proven yourself trustworthy. You did not kill me or take advantage of the moment while I slept. You proved your worth to my murder and thus to me."

Hotaru gave him an annoyed look and lightly flicked his forehead. "You're the one who put you in my lap. And humans don't sleep with their heads under their wings."

"Do not make fun. I will hurt you again." Kurotengu warned. "You came to me. You did not try to avoid me. Why?"

"Because you would've only come after me, like always." Hotaru said, pointing out the obvious. "I'm not stupid. You do it enough that your guards know to leave me a path to get to your nest in the morning."

Kurotengu had to give her that, at least.

"What's the riddle of the day?" Hotaru asked, getting down to business as she put on her glasses. "I have to get to class."

"You are to stay here until I give it to you." The demon replied, getting Hotaru to cross her arms under her bust. "I am Blood Talon and you belong to me. What I say is law."

"Last guy to impose that on me got my Night Fire Scythe in the gut." Hotaru shot back. "Give me your damn riddle so I can get on with my day."

"Why are you being impatient?" Kurotengu inquired.

"Because you forget about the tall woman with silvery white hair and bright mercury eyes that lives at the top of the Main Tower. I'm the _only_ thing standing between you and _her_." Hotaru responded, jabbing him once in the chest. Kurotengu growled at the show of minor aggression and soon had her pinned to his nest with his foot, like yesterday. The huge tengu looked down at her with 4 angry red eyes.

"_I will kill you if you do that again."_ Why did tengu have to have mental abilities? Why couldn't they just have physical talents, like _other_ demons?

"If you kill me, you'll never know what I _really_ meant when I told you that." Hotaru shot back. Kurotengu drew his foot off of her chest. Apparently it had bothered him enough to back off. "Someone's feeling bipolar."

"_Tell me or die, Mystic. It makes no difference to me."_ Kurotengu ordered as Hotaru sat up. Hotaru sighed, huffing up her bangs.

"Fine but listen closely because I'm only going to say this once."

* * *

Wow...yeah...uh, Kurotengu, I thought I told you to RELAX. If you keep threatening to kill 'Taru-chan, I'll make Ed a superhero and kick your feathered ass.

**Ed: **Could you do it NOW?

No, Ed.

**Ed:** Damn.

-sigh- plz read and--

**Ed:** How about getting me out of this straight jacket?

-annoyed- NO. Now, shut UP! -duct tapes mouth closed and hangs Ed from the ceiling by his ankles over a shark filled tank-

As I was saying before I was RUDELY interrupted...

Plz read and review.

I'll have Chapter 7 up asap. Promise.


	7. Finding the Next Clue

Okay, this is a REPLACEMENT for the chap 7 I posted last. This is the REAL chapter 7.

Sorry for the mix up.

**Reviews: From the INCORRECT chap 7/ From the PROPER chap 7**

**Harpygirl91:** Harpy-chan! Don't you DARE encourage him! He's bad enough as it is!

**Dark Queen Helba:** Uh...not commenting on THAT one since a preening Kurotengu is NOT good for my temperment...and the HP world IS in play. We're just seeing the Eastern half right now.

**(new response)** A preening Kurotengu tends to nag the HELL out of me...and I'm already getting threats from Hiei to write a fic for him...so hopefully they won't go to war in the living room while I'm working.

**Taeniaea:** Thank you!

* * *

Harry Potter/Sailor Moon/Full Metal Alchemist

**"Harry Potter and the Living Stone"**

**Chapter 7:**

**"Finding the Next Clue"**

Alphonse had been so absorbed in his book that he hadn't heard Hotaru drop onto the cushion next to him in the Lunch room. He felt her head leaning against his shoulder, pulling him away from his book. He looked at her mildly surprised, a blush not coming to his face. The young alchemist was more worried than anything.

"Are you all right, Hotaru?" Alphonse asked, getting her to lift her head from his shoulder. He wished she hadn't but Hotaru was a lady, technically speaking.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just the sleeping pills that Doctor Marcoh gave me." Hotaru admitted, her glasses on the table. "They make me _really_ tired. I fell asleep when I was supposed to be talking to that feathered jerk."

"You mean that bastard Kurotengu." Edward said, coming over to the table with 2 trays—one for himself and one for Hotaru. "Why the hell did you go talk to him?"

"Because he would've come after me if I didn't. He's done it before." Hotaru responded like she was _really_ half asleep. Al moved her glasses so Ed could put her tray down in front of her. "I missed all 4 periods this morning because of him—and he _still_ didn't tell me why he was shooting tengu passed Dane's classroom. I hate it when he does that. It's even more annoying than his claims to me. The way he's acting makes me wish I had left him to that bastard he replaced."

"What do you mean?" Al asked surprised.

"I blasted his predecessor into literal dust because he was going to rip Kurotengu's throat out for standing against him."

Al looked at his brother, recognizing that look on his face. Ed was concocting a half assed plan to go kill the Blood Talon. The younger Elric knew he was going to get the 3 of them killed.

"Where does the murder roost?" Ed asked. Hotaru was a little too giving in her current state. She opened her mouth to answer and Al clamped his hand over her mouth.

"Ed, no going against the Blood Talon." Al scolded in a hiss. "Or I'll tell Dad what you and Winry did in his workshop over summer leave last year."

If there was ever a time that Edward hated how Alphonse remembered the damnedest things, it was now. The elder Elric muttered curses under his breath and dug into his food. Al lowered his hand from Hotaru's mouth.

"Is there something I'm missing?" Hotaru asked groggily.

Al shook his head. "Just put something on your stomach before you take your next dose."

"You two are weird." Hotaru muttered, biting into an onigiri.

Yeah, that was probably true but Alphonse didn't mind, as long as it kept Edward in line and out of anything that would get himself killed…again. The elder Elric's adventures had a habit of landing him in the hospital or in Pinako Rockbell's automail shop's waiting room until he had a new arm and leg. Al was lucky to be out of his armor body but Ed still had his limbs. At least it only took a torque wrench to pop Ed's limbs from the sockets and leave the elder blond immobile.

_That_ was a true hidden blessing, since it kept Ed from getting into more trouble.

"Maybe I should just go back to bed." Hotaru mumbled, pushing her last bite into her mouth. "I've already missed half the day. There's no real point to going to class like this. I can barely stay awake and I have Kinetic Elements and Rune Ceremonies. Both take more concentration and attention than what I currently have. The last thing we need at the school is a hell fiend loose on campus."

"You guys summon fiends in your 6th period?" Alphonse asked in shock.

"Damn, you guys are whacky, having different classes every other day." Edward shook his head. "Whatever happened to a single schedule?"

"That's only concerning the normal people." Hotaru replied. "Besides, I'm an Elite Phoenix. I have 3 more classes than my normal core and 2 electives. That means I have 9 classes total, not that I mind. I get to branch out more that way."

"Well, if you've got to use that ether chalk, then yeah—you go to bed after lunch. You look like crap." Ed earned a sharp look from Al while Hotaru was distracted with a weenie octopus. "Given you've had to confront a demon twice, an' all."

"He didn't _always_ act like this." Hotaru half babbled around her weenie octopus. "Before he became Blood Talon, he only had an attitude when his predacessor pissed him off. He was such a sweetie. I still think he is, deep down. He just has to act tough because the tengu murder's the leading demon clan on Mystic Isle."

"Is that so?" Ed replied, sipping his soda.

"Oh, yeah. I gave him his name and showed him where he could rest, since he had to stay away from the previous Blood Talon." Hotaru continued. "He used to come into my room and read my books while I slept and he took away most of the nightmares of my world."

"Well, that was nice of him." Alphonse replied with a gentle.

"Yeah, but the ones he gave me later are a real bitch…though, I didn't have them when I was asleep in his nest earlier. An' I kept passing out. I never got to finish what I was saying." Hotaru continued in her haze. "An' he never told me why he kept shooting tengu after me. I'll have to go back after the damn riddle later."

"Sounds like you'd be better off without him." Edward said, getting a sharp look from Alphonse as Hotaru seemingly passed out again, her head dropping forward. She suddenly snapped awake again.

"All right. Time to get you back to the Tower and up into your room." Al sighed softly, tucking her glasses into his jacket's outer breast pocket. He got to his feet and crouched, gently gripping Hotaru beneath her elbows. He helped her to her feet and supported her when her knees gave. "Come on. I've got you. Let's put you back to bed, all right? You need your sleep in a bad way if you're still passing out."

"But I haven't finished lunch." Hotaru mumbled.

"That's all right. I'll bring you something when you wake up." Al promised, taking her out of the lunch room. He kept an arm tight around Hotaru's waist to keep her on her feet. She had her head on his shoulder, her hand lightly clutching the back of his jacket.

If Alphonse wasn't so worried about her as a friend, he would've been blushing madly and trying not to say something stupid. He had his crush so close to his side, leaning her head on his shoulder. He liked Hotaru a lot but his worry outweighed his interest and she needed to be safely in bed before he could allow himself to feel the warmth of her body so close and how well she fitted into his side.

The big problem was that Al knew that Kurotengu wouldn't stop getting to Hotaru and there was nothing a pair of alchemists could do against a demon, except get in a few lucky blows and then get killed. Only mystics stood a chance against demons and the one who needed to defend herself from one wouldn't, or _couldn't_. And Ed took it upon him and Al to be Hotaru's protectors.

After all, aside from a mystic, the only thing that could do damage to a demon was _another_ demon.

That was _it_! All Ed and Al had to do was find _another_ demon to chase Kurotengu off Hotaru's case and keep him at bay! Why didn't he think of it before?

Duh, because it was _psychotic_ to even _consider_!

Hotaru's knees buckled and Alphonse was forced to support her entire weight. Al swept her off her feet, carrying her much like he would as a bride. She was surprisingly light for a girl of her build, of her shape. He was surprised that she didn't weigh _more_ now that she was dead weight, now that she was asleep. And even carrying Hotaru, Al's mind kept wandering back to finding another demon.

It was _suicidal_ thought.

Hell, it was something _Ed_ would come up with.

Damn…his elder brother was _really_ beginning to wear off on him.

"Like I'm going to find a natural enemy of tengu." Alphonse muttered under his breath as he entered the Suzaku Tower and went to the lift. Hotaru's pass crystal glowed softly, reacting to the one above the doors. "I don't even know what breed of demon could _fight_ them. I don't even know where the hell they would even _be_."

"…Karasu…" Hotaru mumbled in her sleep, getting Al's attention. "…Shiro…garasu…roosts in the Wizened Lady…"

Did Hotaru _just_ give up the breed that could rival Kurotengu?

No, stupid—she was ordering a pizza. Of _course_ she was helping you, dumbass!

Alphonse mentally groaned at the sarcastic edge his inner voice had. It sounded a _lot_ like his brother, which didn't make it any better. Ed was bad enough in person; there was no need to have him making comments in his little brother's brain, too. And when it came down to it, Al could shut up the Real World Ed with just a simple reminder of whatever parental-undiscovered deviousness.

The mental version wouldn't shut up no matter what Alphonse did.

Finally, after what seemed like a decade long mental argument, the lift reached the desired floor and the doors opened to allow Al to step out. Hotaru didn't stir or speak after that mumbled piece of information, her head resting on Al's shoulder. He managed to get to her room and open the door with a socked foot.

It was a sad day when Alphonse forgot to take off his boots before entering the Tower itself. He usually had to remind Edward about that. At least the Tower whisked them away for him. Al would have hated to offend their culture because of a teeny slip up.

Laying Hotaru on her bed, Al carefully removed her blazer, vest, shirt and tie and set them aside. She didn't have her shoes on either, which meant the Tower had whisked those away as well. Al took out her hair and took her pass crystal from around her neck, laying her arm over her covers. The last thing he did was use a tissue to get rid of the eyeliner and lipstick before tucking her in and putting her glasses on her bedside table.

On impulse, Alphonse kissed Hotaru on her forehead and felt guilty that Hotaru was going to be left defenseless like this, because he had classes. He would have _loved_ to skip them to watch over her but if he was to pass the State Alchemy Exam in his last year at school, he had to attend all of his classes.

Damn Ed for being able to take it early…but then again, Ed could use alchemy without a circle.

Al sighed silently and resigned himself to his fate. He was going to worry about Hotaru the entire time while he was in class. However, with that little tid bit Hotaru had given him, Alphonse could do some research and look into the weaknesses of the Tengu. And now, all he had to do was get back to his brother and tell him what was now brewing the younger Elric's head.

Hopefully, together, they could find a solution for Hotaru's tengu problem.

* * *

Ya like it? I hope so.

Please read and review.


	8. Hoping for Aid

No excuse...other than computer issues, writer's block and escaped muses. And they HAD to be conspiring, the bastards.

I have stuff up on livejournal, for anyone who's interested: **http:/ kazi-kun. /tag/fanfic**

**Reviews:**

**Dark Queen Helba:** Yes, that chapter's from Ed's point of view, and it's a tremor of power he felt. Not a quake, despite Japan being notorious for them.

And rereading the comments, I've got Kurotengu demanding him being the "Lucky Guy"...again. He's a rather annoying sort when a certain author has had to locate missing muses...and only located would be the Goth Peacock himself. As for a picture, well...he's offered to pose nekkid an' I had to shove him in a box in my closet...again.

**Full Metal Knight:** It's now updated! No more Sad Knight! And thanks...though that's not what I had planned originally, to be honest. They were being so cutesy on the sofa while I was writing and it just kind of turned out that way. I'm glad people like it.

Anyway, here's the overdue chapter 8!

* * *

Harry Potter/Sailor Moon/Full Metal Alchemist

**"Harry Potter and the Living Stone"**

**Chapter 8:**

**"Hoping for Aid"**

Ed looked at his brother mildly dumbfounded as the other students half pushed passed them on the landing of the staircase they were on. He closed his eyes and tried to wrap his brain around what his little brother had said.

"You did _what_?"

"I found out the enemy of the Tengu _and_ the name of their leader as well as where they roost." Alphonse repeated. "I want your help to find out more information and the location of this roost is."

Edward pinched the bridge of his nose. "Al, didn't you _just_ say you knew where the roost was?"

"It's confusing, I know, but I know the roost is in a specific place but not the _location_ of that place." Al emphasized, trying to explain it to his brother.

"And the roost would be where?" Ed asked, suspecting he was going to regret this on some level.

"The Wizened Lady."

Ed lowered his hand from his face and looked at his brother. "The Wizened Lady?" Al nodded. "That's one of the offspring of the _Wandering Elder_, only it doesn't _go_ anywhere. _Demons_ live around and _in_ those trees, Alphonse. You want to go up to a demon roost and say 'one of my friends is getting stalked by a tengu prick, care to help us out?' and actually _expect_ them to help us?" Al nodded again. "Are you _insane_? Or did time in that can warp your brain?"

Al scowled at his older brother. "You're the one taking the historical lore class. Tell me what the karasu are."

"They're-they're guardians, protectors." Edward answered. "They're the demons that are kind and gentle but aren't above ripping someone open for messing with whom they've sworn to protect. What does _that_ have to do with anything?"

"The karasu are enemies of the tengu, Ed." Alphonse earned a milidly surprised blink as Edward reshouldered his bag.

"Seriously?" Ed asked, getting a nod. "Who told you this?"

"Someone I would like to keep out of this." Al replied as he started up the stairs. Ed followed him, just a step behind, getting his little brother to look at him over his shoulder. "Do the karasu have a special name for their leader or is it just 'Lord Whatever'?"

"It's 'Silver Wing'."

Both brothers stopped and looked at the speaker at the top of the stairs. Headmistress Hirahito stood above them in all her silver glory, her shawl wrapped around her arms and flowing around her. She was smiling softly down at the brothers, her mercury eyes never leaving them.

"The leader of the Karasu is known as the 'Silver Wing' which is in contrast to the 'Blood Talon' of the Tengu." The woman in silver said, making the brothers exchange a nervous glance. She motioned them to follow her without losing that smile. "Come, come. We have much to discuss if you wish to know more about the Silver Wing and his flock."

"H-how did you know?" Ed asked with a nervous smile.

"Come, come. We'll discuss this over tea." The headmistress instructed, stepping away from the staircase. Edward and Alphonse hurried up the last of the steps and followed the silver-clad woman down the deserting corridor.

Headmistress Hirahito led the boys down the hall without a care in the world, the occasional teacher or hall monitor passing by receiving a smiling nod in greeting. Ed and Al were only a couple feet behind her but none of the other adults even paid them a glance. It was both a relief and nerve raking.

"Ah, here we are." The dignified sorceress replied merrily, a shouji panel door sliding open without her touching it. She motioned for the boys to go into the room first and followed them inside.

It surprised the boys to find themselves in a tea room with a garden just past the open shouji panels and the veranda. There was a low table with tea and refreshments for three set out and three cushions sitting on the tatami mats, 2 on one side and 1 on the other.

"Sit down. Sit down." Hirahito coaxed good naturedly, the panel door closing behind her. She drifted over to the lone cushion and gracefully sat down on the cushion. "Come, boys. Sit. Sit."

Alphonse looked at Ed and his older brother shrugged with a dismissive "what the hell" kind of look. He set down his bag off to the side and went to the table, dropping onto a cushion. Al set his bag down and sat beside his brother, not sure what was going on.

"Not to be disrespectful, Headmistress." Ed began, trying to be polite. When he was surprised, Ed usually got defensive and snappish but that wouldn't do with the powerful woman before them. "But why the hell are we here exactly?"

"You're both close to Hotaru, aren't you?" She asked as the teapot lifted itself into the air and poured tea into the 3 teacups unassisted.

Ed and Al excahnged a look. "Well, as close as she'll let us get. She's kinda like Hawkeye, cautious as hell."

"That is so very true. You do know of her involvement with Kurotengu, do you not?" The headmistress inquired, seeing the brothers' expressions harden. "Do you know what their relationship _is_ exactly?"

"He claims that she belongs to him. He snuck into her room last night and caught her cheek." Ed answered. "I managed to slash his kimono when I chased him out the window. Al was with 'Taru to keep her from getting involved voluntarily or not."

"According to the laws of her people, should she raise her voice above a calm tone, then it is an admission of defeat and she follows the one who has made her raise her voice. However, what he doesn't seem to understand is that she hasn't submitted, not the way she's supposed to. She insults him and gets hurt because of it. If she _had_ submitted according to her people's laws, then she wouldn't give him cause to hurt her." The Headmistress replied, surprising her 2 guests. "As Blood Talon, Kurotengu receives visions from the proof of his throne, if you will. The medallion he wears is a black talon clutching what looks like a red marble, that gives the leader their name, for that is the Blood Talon amulet. It's a demon amulet that curses any other life form, except for the one it chooses to wear it. It gives Kurotengu his immunity to her abilities but he's not aware of it and because of that immunity, he uses her to decipher the visions and messages he receives."

"But why the tengu? Why him?" Alphonse asked softly.

"Hotaru told you she named him, correct?" Both brothers nodded. "She found him very badly hurt when she was 7, in the dining hall of the Suzaku Tower. She tended to him, gave him shelter in her room and gave him a name, for a child's logic dictates that every friend, whether a toy or a demon, needs a name."

"She saves his life when other mystics would have blown his ass to hell and _this_ is how he thanks her, 9 years later?" Edward scoffed, picking up his teacup and taking a drink. "He's a classic, ungrateful bastard."

Alphonse looked at his brother and then looked at the Headmistress. "Forgive me for jumping straight to the point but how did you know what we were talking about the karasu and where we were?"

Hirahito smiled warmly at him. "Because much like Hotaru's connection to the current Blood Talon, I have a connection to the current Silver Wing. However, in my case, Shirogarasu saved me when I was so very little and dying in the forest, just because I showed signs of being a very powerful mystic. Japan's visitors weren't tolerant nor respective of our culture, of our mingled existance."

"Because mystics and muggles live side by side, like the stories of demons, tennyo and magic are not stories but reality and history." Alphonse earned a nod from the Headmistress. "Your bond with Shirogarasu, what is it exactly?"

"When I was a child, my eyes were the color of Redwoods and my hair was as black as a raven's feathers. When he saved me, he temporarily overshadowed my essence with his own and from then on, our power has mingled. As I grew older and I was schooled, as you boys are, my hair began to turn white and my eyes, the color of mercury." She answered with a fond smile. "When I became a student here, Shirogarasu followed me with his Silver Wing and their flock. When the previous Silver Wing passed, he passed on the title to Shirogarasu. They have become the protectors of our populace. The problem is…"

"The problem is that he can't protect Hotaru who 'belongs' to Kurotengu." Ed finished, reaching for a cookie in the basket near the teapot. Hirahito nodded solemnly. "But how are the karasu and the tengu enemies? I remember what Fujino-sensei said about the tengu looking like crows, ravens and 'karasu' being the Japanese word for crow or raven."

"While that is true, tengu are black and are demons and the karasu are white and are dieties, guardians. They both are similar to crows or ravens in appearance but their auras and coloring are different." Hirahito replied, clarifying the explanation for the boys. "May I ask a question now?"

Ed looked at Al then back at the headmistress. "Uh, sure."

"Why are you boys looking for the karasu?"

"To…" Al began. He licked his lips before starting again. "To help Hotaru. There _has_ to be something we can do to help her and…and maybe the Silver Wing can point us in the right direction."

"Al an' I can handle the messy stuff but we just need someone, like Al said, to point us in the right direction." Edward added. "We're alchemists, not mystics and Hotaru's keepin' her mouth shut about this. We can't ask questions from anyone around here, since that black-feathered bastard's bound to overhear. We should be able to get the answers from another demon. Their rival clan should know something because the rival always knows the other's weaknesses in order to defeat them or in this case, keep them in line, correct?"

Hirahito gave Ed a wry smile. "_Very_ good, Cadet Lieutenant Colonel. You're a credit to your reputation as the Full Metal Alchemist. And with the future 'Soul Alchemist' as a second pair of eyes, a second point of view, you two will be going very far, going new places so very, _very_ soon."

The two brothers exchanged a look as Hirahito held her hand out to the air beside her and a swirl of light appeared, forming a scroll tied with a dark blue ribbon tied around the middle to keep it closed. She held it out to the young men.

"This will help the Silver Wing to understand your motives." She said as Ed tentatively accepted the scroll. She tipped her hand and a bright crystal hang from her long fingers on a fine silver chain. "This will lead you to his roost and will also be a _gift_ for his assistance. If this doesn't look like a deal between the 2 of you and the karasu, then this could be taken as a move of aggression and negate the pact I have with Kurotengu as the leader of the ruling demon clan. I must put the safety of the others before Hotaru's but I can't abandon her, not in good conscious. I must ask you to do this in my stead, though this doesn't sit easy with me either. You are _also_ in my care and I am to protect you both as well."

Al accepted the crystal and put it around his neck, dropping it under his uniform. Ed glanced at the crystal before it disappeared under his brother's clothes and then redirected his attention to the headmistress.

"You still didn't answer Al's question." Ed pointed out, getting a slightly quirked eyebrow in response. "How did you know we were talking about the karasu?"

"Did you know that there isn't a tea room on this floor?" Hirahito inquired in return. Ed was about to ask what that had to do with anything but he stopped as soon as he opened his mouth. He closed his mouth again, knowing the answer. His reaction made a knowing smile grace her lips. "You're welcome to stay here until class is over but you must make it to your next classes without fail. I'm afraid you'll have to make up what you missed in this class, however."

"Small price for helping a friend." Alphonse said without hesitating.

A knowing smirk curved her lips. "And is that _all_ she is to you, Alphonse Elric? Or is she much, _much_ more than that?"

Al looked away, blushing dark red. Was he _seriously_ that _easy_ to read?

"Do remember, boys." Hirahito said, getting their attention. "When going to the Wizened Lady, keep in mind that not _every_ demon in the woods is like the karasu and the guards of the Blood Talon would _love_ to come after the one who almost damaged their master. Whatever you boys do, do _not_ let down your guard."

Ed looked at Al and then back to the headmistress. "Wasn't planning on it."

A smirk curved her lips, a darker light in her eyes. "_Good_."

* * *

The Headmistress is aiding in conspiring minors...this CAN'T be good...

**Ed:** Wow, do you have ANY idea just HOW long we've been on HOLD?

O.o Ed? Where the HELL did you COME from?

**Ed:** Starbucks. Needed caffine.

Where's everyone ELSE?

**Ed:** Al's on a date. Firefly had plans. Annnnd I'm not sure about the others...wait-where's Kurotengu?

In the "I'm a Bad Bird for Offering Posing Nekkid for Pictures" Box in my closet...again.

**Sephiroth:** Are you going to update the REST of these stories?

O.O ...Ifrit's boxers! How did YOU get here?

**Sephiroth:** ...did you or did you NOT play Final Fantasy 7?

...good point.

Right, read and review while I play Muse Round-up.


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